The recluse with his leisure time
Shepherds every minute of the day,
But his theater-loving lady
Finds that evening comes too soon.

Even before the gaslights are lit,
He has paid the teahouse bill,
Including tips,
And given gifts of towels
And hair ornaments
To grateful apprentice geisha.

Then he goes out on a shopping spree,
Accompanied by a gaggle
Of grateful girls.

Isn't that a gentleman of the highest rank?
Higher than the flight
Of the cuckoo
Above the Honganji Hall
Across the river?

-by the Proprietor of Tentendo

This series presented an hour by hour account of vingnettes from the everyday lives of women of a variety of ages and positions working in the chic geisha neighborhoods of Shinbashi and Yanagibashi in Tokyo. Published in 1880-1881 by Morimoto Junzaburo and Nakamura Mitsu, the illustrations were paired with gesaku-style prose full of slang, puns and metaphors written by the journalist Takabatake Ransen (1838-1885, signing as Tentendo) with his own calligraphy. Sometimes he would take the voice of the geisha, at other times his insights are presented from the perspective of an observer.

Published:
Highlights of Japanese Printmaking: Part Five - Yoshitoshi, Scholten Japanese Art, New York, 2017, cat. no. 63